Sunday, January 13, 2013Four-star TE takes in The Farm
By Damon Sayles

Four-star tight end Durham Smythe (Belton, Texas/Belton) visited Stanford last February, but he didn’t get a chance to see much of anything. Smythe was able to get a full description of what the campus and Palo Alto, Calif., had to offer during his official visit over the weekend.

“It was really nice. This week, I got through all of the explorations of the campus and the academics,” Smythe said. “As far as what I expected, it was much better. Seeing all of this really exceeded my expectations.”

Freshman wide receiver Conner Crane was Smythe’s player host. Crane is one of more than a dozen Texans on Stanford’s 2012 roster, and Smythe said he had a chance to speak with several players from the Lone Star State.

“Before, I noticed it, but it wasn’t too big of a deal,” Smythe said. “As I starting to meet bunch of the guys from the Austin area and the Dallas area, I started talking to them about how they made the adjustment of living in Palo Alto. It really helped getting their opinions.”

Smythe said the visit received a high score from him, but he still has two visits -- and a possible third -- before he makes a final decision. Smythe, who decommitted from Texas last month, said he will visit Oregon this weekend and Michigan the weekend of Jan. 25. Stanford, Oregon and Michigan are his top three schools, but Nebraska and Notre Dame also are in the mix.

Smythe is the No. 6 tight end-Y nationally and the No. 57 player in Texas in the class of 2013. He had additional offers from Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, TCU and Miami, among others.